New CAD Breed

If computer-aided design (CAD) makes you think of an engineer sitting in front of a lone computer, you are only partly right. There are two flaws in that perception.

The first is that CAD isn't just for professional designers any more. The second is that those who use this software are less likely to work alone.

Technology leaders, such as auto and aerospace firms, are virtually saturated with CAD, says Peter Kite, director of marketing at Prime Computer, Natick, MA. Now the followers are adopting it. PCs with enough power to run CAD well have put it within reach of far more users.

It cost "a tremendous amount of money" to get into automated design 10 years ago, notes George Dragun, a principal with the consulting firm Gellman, Hayward & Partners, Calgary. Today the cost is much lower.

For Claris Corp., the software arm of Apple Computer Inc., architects and designers constitute only about 60 per cent of the market. Mel Badgett, product manager for Claris CAD, says the software is meant for "anyone who needs a drafting-table-like capability" through an electronic medium.

Quilts and organs

Some of those users, such as cabinet makers, come as no surprise. Others are less obvious. People who make patchwork quilts use CAD software to create patterns, for instance. One Prime customer uses it to design church organs. CAD's ability to edit drawings can be applied to areas such as geographic information systems (GIS).

"CAD has become more a part of the over-all information systems structure," Mr. Dragun says. New users have helped swell the market for CAD software, especially that which runs on PCs.

Daratech Inc., a market research firm in...